Two-time defending gold medalist beach volleyball pair Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor of the United States wrap up pool play Wednesday against Austrian sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger — and Walsh insists she won’t be slowed by a case of pinkeye in her left eye.

“It’s super minor,” she said. “It just looks worse than it is.”

Walsh Jennings’ left eye was red and watery as she squinted through it, dabbing it repeatedly with a tissue to wipe away the gunk and teardrops. Her husband, fellow beach volleyball pro Casey Jennings, has it much worse.

“It looks like his eyeballs got their butts kicked,” she said.

Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor have opened the London Games with victories in their first two matches in pool play — a 16-game winning streak that stretches back to Athens. They are virtually assured of a spot in the knockout round regardless of what happens in Wednesday night’s match.

AFRICA’S FENCING WIN

Egypt’s Alaaeldin Abouelkassem has won the first Olympic medal ever claimed by a fencer from Africa.

He lost the final 15-13 to his Chinese rival, yet could barely believe what he’d achieved by earning a silver medal.

Abouelkassem, son of an Algerian mother and an Egyptian father, said his victory would not just boost fencing in Egypt, but in all over Africa.

“They need this medal to improve the fencing in Africa,” he said.

On his way to the final, Abouelkassem beat reigning world champion Andrea Cassara of Italy and former four-time world champion Peter Joppich of Germany.

“Every match, I am better than the match before,” he said after defeating Cassara. “I feel good, I have no stress, I am from Africa, from Egypt, so no one expects me to win.”

Abouelkassem dedicated the medal to his father who died recently.

“This was the dream of my dad and he left me three months ago,” he said.

FIERCE FIVE

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team has gold medals around their necks, but one thing is still missing.

They need a catchy nickname, something like “The Magnificent Seven” from 1996, the last time American women landed on top of the medal stand.

“I like Fierce Five,” McKayla Maroney said. “Because we are definitely the fiercest team out there.”

TUNISIAN SURPRISE

The Americans were expected to have a blowout win against Tunisia on the basketball court Tuesday. But nobody told the Tunisians they were supposed to go down easily.

They began fearlessly, with Makram Ben Romdhane driving all the way for a dunk — the type of athletic plays that are usually made by the Americans, not against them — to take an 8-4 lead. Tunisia still led by three with 2:39 left in the period before the U.S. second unit ran off the final nine points for a 21-15 advantage.

The Americans came back and won 110-63.

But after wire-to-wire loser Sunday against Nigeria, the Tunisians will be able to tell their kids their first Olympic lead came against the powerful Americans.

BAD-MINTON

Did the world doubles badminton champs try to lose?

Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China were booed off the Olympic court Tuesday after appearing to intentionally lose against South Koreans Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na in a preliminary women’s match. The South Koreans also didn’t look as if they were trying to win at times.

The reason? Both teams had already topped their groups and qualified for the last 16, but the result ensured top seeds Wang and Yu avoided playing their No. 2-seeded teammates until the final.

Yu said they were only trying to save energy for the knockout rounds, starting Wednesday.

“We would try hard in every match if they were elimination games,” she said.

VAULTING TO THE TOP

One of the toughest vaults is the Amanar, named after 1996 vault champion Simona Amanar. It consists of a roundoff onto the takeoff board, back handspring onto the table and 2.5 twisting somersaults before landing.

Most countries are lucky to have one or two gymnasts who even try it, let alone do it well. But four of the five Americans — Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas and world vault champion McKayla Maroney — land the high-scoring skill.

It’s got a start value — the measure of difficulty — of 6.5, a whopping 0.7 above the vault most other gymnasts do, and on Tuesday the Americans ripped off one massive one after another. It gave them a 1.7-point lead, and they never looked back.

AURORA CHEERS

A Colorado town shaken by a mass shooting in a movie theater has something to celebrate — a gold medal won by local swimming star, Missy Franklin.

Franklin, 17, attends Aurora’s Regis Jesuit High School and lives in the nearby Denver suburb of Centennial. Following the July 20 shootings, she dedicated her Olympic races to her home state.

“It’s such a terrible thing, and I’m so shaken by it,” Franklin said last week. “They’re in my thoughts this entire process.”

Franklin won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke Monday after having opened her games with a relay bronze.

“For Missy to take time in the midst of her finest moment to think about her hometown and how she can help in its healing is an incredible statement about her character,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said Tuesday.

“It certainly means a lot to Aurora to know that Missy cares, and we are proud of her achievements.”

COZY TARGETS

Funny thing about the Olympic archery setup at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Television images don’t give you any idea how cozy it is.

Instead of using the whole wide cricket stadium, London organizers carved out an intimate arena in the middle, complete with temporary bleachers. TV cameras and photographers are so close to the archers they must be protected from wayward arrows by hiding in little green bunkers. A time clock ticks off the 20 seconds in which the Olympians have to shoot, and a Jumbotron captures the tics in their faces as they compete.

I was glad, however, not to be in the wheelchair seating section on the far right. A little too close to those targets for my comfort.

THE GREATEST OLYMPIAN

So, Michael Phelps has become the most successful Olympian of all time. But moments earlier he’d confessed to teammates that he was feeling vulnerable.

Here’s what he said shortly before the relay in which he was to swim the final leg.

“I told those guys I wanted a big lead. I was like, ’You better give me a big lead going into the last lap,’ and they gave it to me. I just wanted to hold on. I thanked them for being able to allow me to have this moment.”

And what a moment.

Earlier, he’d squandered a certain gold by easing up in the final second of the 200-meter butterfly — and he tossed off his cap in disgust.

But the silver medal — not a color normally associated with Phelps — at least put him level in the all-time list of Olympic medal winners.

The victory in the 4x200 freestyle relay smashed the overall record that had stood for decades, a staggering total of 19 medals. And there are still three more events for him to establish a mark that will be hard for anyone to touch.

HUNGRY SHARAPOVA

Compared with Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova says she finds the Olympics more tasty.

Sharapova and the rest of the Russian tennis team have been eating dinner together at a house near Wimbledon, the southwest London venue that is hosting the Olympic tournament.

“We have a few cooks that have come from Ukraine, which has been the best part,” Sharapova said. “I’m the first one in line for the food all the time.”

Still hungry for a medal, Sharapova advanced Tuesday into the third round.

FROM OHIO TO TRINIDAD

Although Carlos Suarez lost his only bout in London, the light flyweight from Lima, Ohio, had the Olympic boxing crowd chanting his name.

Fighting for Trinidad and Tobago, his mother’s homeland, Suarez dropped a 16-6 decision to Turkey’s Ferhat Pehlivan in a horrendously sloppy bout. Pehlivan tripped and fell to the canvas easily a dozen times, annoying Suarez tremendously, yet still grinded out enough points to win.

The undersized Suarez shoved, shuffled and even taunted Pehlivan to fight him, but the bout never found a rhythm. The mostly British fans loved his efforts, giving him a huge ovation.

After what’s likely the final bout in 11 years as an amateur boxer, Suarez vented his frustrations with this version of the sport.

Overlooked amid the U.S. women’s rout Tuesday night was Romania winning the bronze medal in women’s gymnastics, extending its remarkable streak of finishes. The Romanians now have won a medal at every Olympics dating back to 1976.

“How many gymnasts are there in the USA? China? Russia?” asked coach Octavian Belu. “We have a small group and try our best every day to make good things. We came into the competition with our hearts open.”

Making the streak that much more impressive is the struggles the Romanians have had the last few years.

After winning gold in Sydney and Athens, the Romanians finished fourth at the 2006 world championships, the first time since 1981 they had failed to win a team medal. The Romanians got back on the podium at both the 2007 worlds and Beijing Olympics, but they were a distant third. They tumbled back off the podium in 2010 and 2011, but have made a great recovery this year. In addition to their Olympic bronze, they beat Russia for the European title in May.

APPRECIATING DENG

This was a moment to appreciate the effort, not assign blame for the failure.

The British men’s basketball team fell just short of an upset over Brazil, losing 67-62. If Luol Deng had played better, the hosts might have pulled it off.

The NBA All-Star shot only 3 of 13 from the field and missed two free throws in the closing minutes.

If he were playing with his Chicago Bulls, Deng would have been ripped apart in print and on radio talk shows.

But fans in Britain are grateful for his commitment. Deng grew up in London after his family fled conflict-torn Sudan and he’s played for the national team since 2007. He helped the British perform well enough in last year’s European championships to convince FIBA that they deserved the traditional automatic Olympic host slot.

So there he was, more than a half hour after the game, still posing for photos with fans.

A BOXING BEEF

Carlos Suarez has a beef about Olympic boxing.

The light flyweight from Lima, Ohio, was fighting for Trinidad and Tobago, his mother’s homeland, as he dropped a 16-6 decision Tuesday to Turkey’s Ferhat Pehlivan.

It was a horrendously sloppy bout. Pehlivan fell to the canvas easily a dozen times, annoying Suarez, yet still grinded out enough points to win.

Foxhills, the country spa hotel hosting the British cycling team, confirmed Tuesday that the Tour de France winner’s training gear was stolen from a locker room while the athletes were having a steamy soak.

“Watch your kit at the Foxhills spa in Surrey, there is a tea leaf about,” Wiggins tweeted. “Tea leaf” is Cockney slang for thief.

Many of the cyclist’s 325,000 followers offered messages of sympathy. “Hope you did not have to sprint back to the room in the buff,” tweeted one.

TWITTER AND NBC

Here’s the latest on the saga of the journalist whose Twitter account was suspended after he asked followers to email the NBC Olympics president to complain about the network’s coverage of the opening ceremony.

Twitter acknowledged Tuesday in a post on its blog that its team working with NBC for their Olympic partnership “proactively” identified the tweet that it said was in violation of its rules and encouraged the network to report it. The social media website’s general counsel wrote the behavior was “not acceptable and undermines the trust our users have in us.”

NBC Sports says in a statement it wanted to protect its executive, not get the user suspended from Twitter. “We didn’t initially understand the repercussions of our complaint, but now that we do, we have rescinded it,” the statement read.

BEFORE PHELPS

So, Michael Phelps has now won more Olympics medals than any other athlete in history. But do you know who had held the record until Tuesday?

It was Larisa Latynina, a small, white-haired former gymnast who hasn’t been in action for nearly 50 years.

She won nine gold medals as a gymnast for the Soviet Union, and her 18 total medals had stood since 1964.

The 77-year-old Latynina was in the crowd at North Greenwich Arena on Tuesday to watch the women’s gymnastics team final, and she received a warm ovation when her face was shown on the scoreboard late in the competition. She stood up and waved, a big smile on her face as she was introduced by the arena announcer.

Latynina’s Olympic career ended after she took home six medals — two of each — from the 1964 Tokyo games.

SORRY MATE

Chuang Chih-Yuan of Taiwan is feeling terrible despite reaching the quarterfinals of men’s table tennis. He pulverized Adrian Crisan of Romania 11-3, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 on Tuesday. Trouble is, Chuang says Crisan is his best friend in the game.

“But this is sport and I was very sorry yesterday when I knew I would have to play against him. It was a very bad feeling. ... It was like you have to kill your brother.”

PHELPS RECORD

The Americans have just won the 4x200 freestyle relay — and that’s a 15th gold for Michael Phelps and a new Olympic-record 19th career medal.

PISTORIUS RELAY

Double-amputee Oscar Pistorius has been cleared to run any part of the Olympic 4x400-meter relay.

Pistorius was the leadoff runner in the semifinals at the world championships in South Korea last year but the IAAF had raised concerns that his carbon-fiber blades would endanger others in the race. South Africa won silver.

IAAF President Lamine Diack said Tuesday that it’s up to the South African federation to decide

“If they want him to run the second leg, he can run the second leg,” said Diack. “It is no problem for us.”

HEAVY FAVORITES

The U.S. men’s basketball team went into Tuesday night’s game as the enormous favorite over Tunisia, but that wasn’t stopping the gamblers from betting on the Americans.

Kevin Bradley, manager of Bovada Sportsbook, says “65 percent of the money is still coming in on the USA and the pace has been steadily increasing all morning.”

GUESS MY WEIGHT

How much do the table tennis tables weigh at the Olympic venue?

A. 200 kilos

B. 50 kilos

C. 20 kilos

“A” is the correct answer. Heavy duty stuff. Seemed to take a dozen men to move them around at the venue, which has been reduced to using only one table after opening with four for early round play.

PHELPS SECOND

Agonizingly close for Michael Phelps. He misses a gold medal by a tiny fraction, slipping out of first place right at the end of the men’s 200 butterfly. South Africa’s Chad le Clos wins. Phelps has tied the record for the most Olympic medals. A small consolation for the American.

NORTH KOREA MEDALS

There is surely a celebratory air in Pyongyang right now — North Korea is fifth on the Olympic medals table.

They have four medals overall which puts them in joint ninth position in terms of the total number of medals earned. But it’s gold that counts, and Kim Un Guk’s success in the men’s 62-kilogram weightlifting Monday night means they now have three of them.

The only thing that might dampen their excitement: South Korea is currently in fourth position on the medal standings. China is currently top of the table, followed by the U.S. and then France.

STELLA!

London is the greatest city in the world — and not just when the Olympics are in town, says Stella McCartney, daughter of Beatles legend Paul McCartney.

The fashion designer who created Great Britain’s team uniforms — which some say have a tad too much Scottish blue and not enough Welsh red — said the U.K.’s vibrant capital has “a bit of all the world” in it.

“I just love London, I think it has the best of every city I’ve ever been to ... even with the weather, I still love it,” McCartney said Tuesday at a business summit seeking to win a U.K. trade boost from the Olympics.

DON’T SHOOT ME NOW

Novak Djokovic made quick work of Andy Roddick, needing just 54 minutes to wrap up victory.

But Roddick says people shouldn’t draw hasty conclusions.

“I won two out of the last three coming in here, so it’s like night and day,” Roddick said.

“I feel like if I win one, it’s career appreciation day. If I don’t, it’s like ‘Take him out in the field and shoot him in the head.”’